THE DANGER OF UNBELIEF, AND THE ADVANTAGES OF RATIONAL FAITH.

JOHN XX. 29.

Jefus faith unto him, Thomas, because thou haft feen me, ibos haft believed: bleffed are they, that have not feen, and yet have believed.

THESE words relate to the ftrange unwillingness of one of the apoftles to admit the teftimony of our Saviour's refurrection. And there is something fo remarkable and instructive in the account, which the evangelifts give, not only of the behaviour of St. Thomas in the fingle inftance before us, but of the whole behaviour of the various perfons concerned in the history of our bleffed Lord, and efpecially in the concluding part of it, that I fhall defire your attention a while to that matter in general, before I proceed to our apostle's cafe in particular.

Throughout the gospels, the characters of all who appear in them, though very unlike each to the other, and fome of them, very uncommon, are drawn fo agreeably to nature, and prefented fo confiftent; (while yet the writers plainly use no art on the occafion, and indeed were incapable of using it to any purpose) that a confiderate perfon, without farther evidence, muft conceive the defcriptions to be taken from the life. Supernatural things indeed, of the most amazing kind, are intermixed. But then the caufe was worthy of them in the highest degree and all the mere human part of the narration, if I may call it by that name, is fo entirely free from any thing forced and romantic, and reprefents the heads and hearts of men working fo exactly as they do in fact work, yet fo differently from what the unfkilful would be apt to expect from them, that it

very

very strongly confirms the truth of all that is related. I fhall specify only such proofs of this point, as occur in the short story of our Saviour's death and return to life.

The picture, which we have there, of the bigotry and fuperftition of the Jews, how astonishing is it, and yet, how juft! zealous profeffors of a religion which prefers justice and mercy to all things; yet incited by that very zeal to the groffoft violations of both abhorring from principle the Roman power; yet making it in form their charge against the meek and lowly Jefus, that he was dangerous to that power: determined to have his life, though vifibly innocent; fuborning falfe witneffes; raifing tumults for that wicked end: yet much too fcrupulous to go into the fudgement-hall, left they should be defiled, and made unfit to eat the paffover. At the fame time, Pilate, the Roman governor, appears in quite another light: a perfectly natural one indeed for a man of the world: but which plain country people, and fuch the firft believers were, would never have placed him in, from their own invention. Contemptuously indifferent about the religious accufations brought against the prisoner: very clear, that the political ones were groundlefs, and therefore in earnest defirous to fave him: but however, making a compliment of him at all adventures to Herod, the moment that he had hopes it might reconcile, as it did, a powerful enemy; and ready without hesitation to crucify him, rather than run the hazard of not being thought Cafar's friend. His wife in the mean while, with the native tenderness of her fex, and the common fuperftition of the age, lays a ftrefs on her very dreams to diffuade him from fhedding guiltless blood.

The difciples, on this trying incident, we find represented to be of just such various and unequal characters, as men generally are indeed, but are seldom made to be in ctitious compofitions. Judas, whom Chrift, though he knew him well, permitted to be an apoftle, (probably to fhew, that the worft of men, with the fairest opportunities, could prove no evil against him) after following him to make a profit of keeping the purse, first betrays him for a little more profit; yet, like a true villain, aims to conceal his treachery under marks of most affectionate regard: is ftruck however with remorfe and horror, when he begins to fee the confequences of his crime draw nearer; but deftroys himself, inftead of afking pardon, because his

own

own heart was too bad, to be capable of believing that his Lord could forgive him. Peter, on the contrary, whofe forwardness and felf-opinion had led him unneceffarily into the neighbour hood of danger, unable to go through the trial, which he had chofen, finks into very wrong behaviour for a while but hav ing fallen merely through weakness, is recovered by a look of the perfon, whom he had fo meanly difowned, and gives inmediate proofs of the moft ingenuous repentance. John, the beloved difciple, though driven away with the reft, (and na wonder) by their common fears, yet cannot stay with them; goes back, the fame hour, to his matter at the palace of the high prieft; ftands by his cross the next day, receives his dying commands, and takes his mother directly home to his own house.

The foldiers alfo, and the multitude, are defcribed with the fame jattuefs and propriety. Infolent and ludicrous beyond measure at fift, and for fome time; but gradually foftened, and comp fed into ferioufnefs, the more they faw: till at length even the heathen centurion, who prefided over the execution, glorified God, faying, certainly this was a righteous man; truly this was the Son of God: and all the people, that came together. to that fight, beholding the things which were done, fmote their breafts, and returned. But let us proceed with the difciples.

After his death, we find them all abfolutely hopeless about his refurrection: a circumftance which undoubtedly adds much weight to their fubfequent conviction of it; but which no impoftor would ever have invented, because it appears fo hard to reconcile with their being foretold both, as they were frequently. A fair folution indeed may be given. They thought, what others of the people faid, we have heard out of the law, that Chrift abideth for ever; and how fayeft thou, the Son of Man mu be lifted up? Expecting therefore a victorious and immortal Meffiah, they chofe, when he fpoke of himfelf, as one who was to be taken and crucified, rather to put any meaning, er none, upon the prediction of his death, and confequently of his refurrection, than to understand each in its plain meaning. But ftill no one would forge a fact wantonly, that must be attended with fuch a difficulty as this. Or, if any one had, he would

Math. xxvii. 54. Mark xv. 39. Luke xxiii. 47, 48 · † John xil. 34

wold fcarce have divided the matter fo very exactly, as to reprefent the difciples, (which the gofpels do) paying the high. ett honours to his dead body, though his dying extinguished all their profpects from him; and when they had left off truling, that this was he, who should have redeemed Ifrael, yet afferting without the least doubt, that he was a prophet, mighty is word and deed, before God and all the people. Yet in reality, fuch was the very state of mind, in which perfons, with their notions, muft naturally be, till he rofe again, fuppofing the feripture hiftory of him true: which therefore receives from hence a strong confirmation.

And when he rofe again, the gospel account of that event alfo carties the like internal marks of gemuinencfs. Every thing is told in the most artless manner: hardly any of the molt convincing circumftances dwelt upon, but merely related; and none, that may feem unfavourable to Christianity, concealed or palliated. The narration, a very lively picture of the diforder and confufion, into which the minds of the apoftles must be thrown by an event fo furprising, fo interefting; and laid before the world, with just fuch omiffions and trilling variations, as would happen of courfe in giving it to the other dif ciples on the fpot; and as always do happen, when we inform thofe around us, with the greatest fimplicity, of what we know beit. Every fingle part is confiftent with every other, when confidered with due attention and candor. But if any were lefs fo, a few differences in minute articles, relative to a thing done several years before, are never allowed to invalidate a perfect agreement in the main fact. On the contrary, the tef timony of the apostles, instead of becoming fufpicious on this account, would indeed be rather more credible; as they would plainly appear not to fpeak from previous combination; but each to deliver fairly what he recollected, concerning a matter, of which he was much too fure in general, to be fcrupulously accurate in particulars. And the Holy Spirit, which guided them, might purposely forbear extending his influence to fome things of fmall moment, that in after-times men might fhew whether they would be reasonable, or whether they would cavil.

But one thing, more especially remarkable, the writers of the New Testament have done, which no impoftors would ever have done; they have recorded the hiftory of their own weakneffes, and those of all the apostles, just as frankly and unaffectedly, as they have done every thing else; and in no point more fully, than in the capital one of the refurrection. They ac knowledge themselves, in general, to have difregarded fuch repeated proofs of it, as deferve the utmost regard. And, to come now closer to the proper fubject of my text, one of them acquaints us, that St. Thomas particularly, having once fixed it in his mind, that the thing was not likely, and the evidence not fufficient; infifted, that nothing less than his own feeing and feeling the marks of the wounds fhould convince him that it was a reality, and not an apparition'; the fame perfon, and not another.

Now this is going a very uncommon, and it may feem an incredible, length; but there have been and are perfons, on fome occafions full as unreafonable, though other wife deferving of much efteem. And we learn from a paffage in St. Jobs, which there is no colour for thinking was written to account for this before us, that St. Thomas's temper was peculiarly determined and refolute. Our Saviour, on the death of Lazaru in Judea, declares his purpose of returning thither from Galilee, His followers diffuade him, because he had lately been in great danger there: He perfils: then Jaid Thomas unto his fellowdifciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now the fame fleady firmnefs, when fixed on any other point, however different, would be, as we find it here, equally hard to move, And therefore his pofitiveness to truft no one but himself, is far from being improbable. Yet it was notwithstanding very blameworthy. For of whatsoever one man's fenfes can judge, another's can judge likewife and if credible witneffes are not credited, all the affairs of human life must be at a stand.

However, this perverfenefs being accompanied with no bad meaning; Thomas having only carried fomewhat further, than his companions, the diffidence, of which they had all been guilty; perhaps too thinking his mafter's promise, that they fhould fee him, a good plea for holding out till he, as well as the reft had seen him; and continuing all the while in the fel lowship

• John xi. 16.